The IDE will now highlight your JavaScript code according to the libraries that are configured for the file. This way you can now use libraries not only to filter the completion list, but also to clearly see what your code uses and be sure it won’t fail in production as it calls a non-existing method from the library that was never supposed to be part of this project. So, if you suddenly get your code highlighted red, please make sure you’ve configured libraries correctly at File -> Settings -> JavaScript -> Libraries (WebStorm -> Preferences on Mac OS). Please find more information on the libraries configuration here and here.

Note: If you have debug JS sources attached to the library, the IDE will ignore minified sources. In general, we encourage you to always use debug version of JavaScript libs as it is easier to be parsed by the IDE… and also is surprisingly much more pleasant to read

Files that are part of JS library will not be validated any more, saving computer power and your time. If you still need a file to be validated, you can always ask Hector the Inspector that lives in the status bar.

File watchers: we now include predefined configuration for YUI Compressor (JavaScript and CSS) and Closure Compiler. More details in separate blog post are coming.

You can now keep your JSHint configuration in a file within the project. Just go to File -> Settings -> JavaScript -> JSHint and click ‘Use config files’. The IDE is smart enough to look for the file in parent folders as well, and kind enough to accept your custom path.

The IDE now carries a built-in HTTP server for static files. This means that you can simply type http://localhost:63342/<project name>/<path from the project root> in the browser (or on the mobile device) and the IDE will deliver your static pages right away! No more need to keep a local Apache/Httpd/nginx or whatever running 7×24! Our server also supports HTTPS.

Couple of fixes regarding JS classes inheritance and navigation.

Last but not least, and much awaited: There’s now code folding in SASS!

Please report any unexpected behavior to the tracker and praise, claim or enquire in forums. And stay tuned, we’ve got lot more interesting stuff coming!

Working with multiple files in the editor is par for the course. The challenge, however, is not to get lost in zillions of editor tabs opened for each file in the editor pane. Luckily, smart tab management and a few navigation techniques go a long way toward helping you find your way around opened files quickly and efficiently.

1. HTML structure view has been reworked, and now it’s much easier to navigate over complex HTML files. More details will follow soon, let me just show a screenshot of HTML5 outline mode:

2. IDE can now grab the latest version of JSHint right from the Web, so you can always stay up to date with all the JSHint features. Just go to Settings -> JavaScript -> JSHint and choose the version you need or continue with the bundled one.

3. We implemented the long-awaited support for Emmet, HTML only for now, but CSS part will catch up soon!

4. JetBrains Chrome Extension is now distributed via Chrome Web Store. This means easier install and updates and less troubles with JavaScript debugging and Live Edit.

5. We’ve renamed Background tasks feature (that compile your TypeScript to JavaScript, LESS to CSS and so on) to File Watchers, which seems to be more appropriate name.

6. Last but not least: bugfixes is what we care about every day! JavaScript, TypeScript, Dart, as well as IntelliJ IDEA platform continuously get more stable and performant. If you feel different, please let us know, this is what our tracker and forums are for! 😉

That’s all for now, just grab new build and try. And stay tuned, more features and improvements are on their way to you guys!

Sometimes you have several different versions of files or folders related to your project locally, or you’ve just downloaded it from a remote source. In this case it’s crucial to work with the most up-to-date copy. If you need to merge changes and synchronise folders, then it can become even more complicated, as well as difficult to perform manually without any support.

The good news is that you can quickly and conveniently compare and/or synchronize files/folders with guidance and support from your IDE, without any external tools. PhpStorm and other IntelliJ Platform IDEs help you explore differences in many situations: differences between files, directories, revisions of the same file under version control or in the local history, database objects, or local and remote files.

In a previous post we saw how PhpStorm handles Version Control Systems (VCS). A very popular VCS is Git, driven by the collaboration that’s possible using GitHub. In this post, we’ll explore several integrations with GitHub that are available from within your IDE:

Create a GitHub repository

Clone a GitHub repo

Create a gist on GitHub

Open in browser

Use the GitHub issue tracker

Next to those actions, PhpStorm provides full support for the Git VCS like commit and update file/directory or an entire project, changelists, revision support and so forth. More on these features can be found in our earlier VCS overview post.

We’ve fixed troubles with LESS support that some of you may have stepped into using previous build. Also, we’ve brought a couple of improvements for built-in file watchers for TypeScript, CoffeeScript, SASS and LESS transpilation (nice word, eh?). This will make configuration phase even easier. We’ll publish more information on this topic shortly to ensure that you can try this at home

There are also some fixes regarding JavaScript, TypeScript and Dart languages support, and overall platform improvements. Let me also note that lot of stuff is under active development, so please follow the updates!

As usual, we very much need you feedback. We hope you will throw a stone at us about every problem you find using tracker and forums.